From 19th to 24th September 07 we will gather at Gatwick Airport for
the first No Border Camp in the UK. This camp will be a chance to work
together to try and stop the building of a new detention centre, and to
gather ideas for how to build up the fight against the system of
migration controls.

Gatwick Aiport – The Border Point

Gatwick is a border in the middle of Britain. People arrive here
everyday. People are forcibly deported from here everyday. It is a
place where people are imprisoned for unlimited lengths of time without
trial, where people are forced to hide underground and be invisible,
where people are treated as criminals for the ‘crime’ of crossing the
border.

In Britain, the government has recently announced its intention to
build a new detention centre, near Tinsley House, another detention
centre at Gatwick airport. This will be another in a long line of
barbarous prisons across the world, imprisoning people who migrate.
Unless we stop it from being built.

Not far from Gatwick there are other border fortifications: the
immigration reporting centre at Croydon, the airline companies who
charter deportation flights and the ID Interview centre in Crawley. And
a few miles away are the border posts at Dover and Folkstone, where
fear of detection by the border police forces people to risk their
lives hiding under lorries, or in suffocating containers.

While the physical borders get fortified, governments also tighten up
the internal controls: from international databases to video
surveillance, biometric ID cards to electronic tagging. Just recently,
the UK government has announced the introduction of the Sirene System.
This will grant Britain access to the SIS (Schengen Information
System), a EU wide police database for refugees and migrants, planned
to be extended to keep protesters from moving around.

A Tactics Laboratory

How does daily life, from the need to work for survival to the welfare
system, reinforce these borders? How can we fight against the common
acceptance of borders, the idea of an inside and outside? How can we
claim freedom of movement as a basic right? How do we assert our
ability to decide whether to go or stay, according to our needs and
desires, not the needs of the state or the economy? How can we escape
control, and start building a movement powerful enough to challenge the
divisions between people?

We need to share knowledge with those who have broken these borders,
the hackers who escape control, those who survive without work and
money, those who fight the detention system , those who question
identities, those who have learnt to organise themselves without
hierarchy or divisions.

Camp(aign)ing Against Borders

This camp is continuing the tradition of the No Border camps across the
world since the late 1990s, and like the camps taking place this year
in the Ukraine in August and on the US/Mexican border in November. It
will be a space to share information, skills, knowledge and
experiences. A place to plan actions together against the system of
borders which divides us.

We are aware that the struggles for “no borders” reach far beyond “open
borders”. Without borders the idea of states will become obsolete,
without states the national economies will be history. In a world
without borders, nobody will ask for papers anymore.

The camp will also be a laboratory of political and practical
self-organisation. The camp will consist only of people’s contributions
to this. We are aware of the borders which divide ourselves from each
other, be it sex, class, race, nationality, or whatever. The border
camps are experiments in how to overcome these artificial and
separating identities.

No Borders

No Borders is a network of groups struggling for the freedom of
movement for all and an end to all migration controls. We call for a
radical movement against the system of control, dividing us into
citizens and non-citizens.

We demand the end of the border regime for everyone, including
ourselves, to enable us to live another way, without fear, racism and
nationalism.

The week of 2-8 July is International Nestlé-Free Week. Exposing and targeting aggressive baby food marketing by the worst of the baby food companies.

Nestlé boycott groups around the world have declared 2-8 July as International Nestlé-Free Week. Nestlé is one of the four most boycotted companies on the planet due to its aggressive marketing of baby foods. It is responsible for more violations of marketing requirements adopted by the World Health Assembly than any other company.

According to UNICEF:

“Marketing practices that undermine breastfeeding are potentially hazardous wherever they are pursued: in the developing world, WHO estimates that some 1.5 million children die each year because they are not adequately breastfed. These facts are not in dispute.”

The boycott will continue until Nestlé accepts and acts on a four-point plan put to it by boycott coordinators. Nestlé-Free Week is a new initiative to increase awareness and to involve those who don’t want to boycott Nestlé year round or focus on its major product not the full range.

On February 14th 2007, cheatneutral.com was born. The world’s first infidelity offset service, it offered a market-based solution to rising concentrations of heartbreak in the atmosphere. For the cost of a condom, it enabled those who have cheated on their partners, whether a drunken snog at the office party or a sustained period of bigamy, to have their cheating ‘offset’ by a global network of fidelity.

Cheat offsetting is, of course, a joke – much to the embarrassment of the American radio show hosts who decided to interview the website creators live on air. But it has proved a highly successful tool for ridiculing the madness that actually exists – carbon offsetting – and sparking an important debate about how best to go about averting climate change.

Within two months of launching, Cheat Neutral had found it’s way onto the BBC News and into the Houses of Parliament, bringing a bit of welcome humour to an otherwise difficult subject. And now the short documentary Cheat Neutral is due to screen at many major film festivals around the world.

A five minute version of the film is also currently only about 150 votes away from first place in an online competition at http://www.scenewon.com. This is significant because Global Cool (who sponsor the competition) currently promote offsetting as a way to reduce emissions and give quite a bit of money to the Carbon Neutral Company. Hopefully Cheat Neutral’s success will make them think about putting less emphasis on offsetting and more emphasis on the need for REAL emissions reductions in the West and a binding international framework for carbon reductions.

If you’d like to order a free copy of the 13 minute documentary on DVD for local screenings, please contact beth@cheatneutral.com.

And if you want to help Cheat Neutral win the online competition please register at http://www.scenewon.com, login and rate the film before 30th June

Staff at the Ritzy cinema in Brixton spend the whole day on [26 May 2007] in a very lively picket line to protest against their pay rates and working conditions. The picket was well attended throughout the day, whilst many local people showed support for the Ritzy staff demands by signing the strikers’ petition below:

“They Charge London Rates, But Don’t Pay London Rates

The Ritzy is owned by City Screen Ltd, notorious low-payers of the cinema world.

Currently on the minimum wage of £5.35, Ritzy staff have been in ongoing negotiations about pay through BECTU (Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union)

In a final attempt to resolve the issue, Ritzy staff proposed a 3-5 year pay settlement to bring us closer to the living wage.

The living wage is currently set at £7.28 per hour, the amount needed to comfortably live in London.

City Screen stated they would never pay the London poverty wage of £6.25 per hour (as set by The Greater London Authority).

The poverty line is the minimum amount needed in order to survive living in London and takes into account increased living costs such as utilities and transport.

We are taking industrial action because we feel undervalued in the workplace and overworked due to a reduction in man-hours. This has a knock-on effect to costumers who receive a lower quality of service. We feel that this is unacceptable and urge you to support us in our fight to re-establish the quality and values that London’s Best Neighbourhood Cinema (Living London Award 2006) was built on!.”

Despite its trendy reputation as a favourite haunt for Brixton’s liberals the Ritzy Cinema is being far from kind to its staff. If you go to the Ritzy during the Human Rights Film Festival you will get see many worthy productions that rail against the exploitation of workers across the globe. Meanwhile the cinema is paying its staff the minimum wage of £5.35 an hour in the most expensive city to live in the country…

Picture House (City Screen) cinemas took over the Ritzy in 2003 and refused to recognize the BECTU Trade Union which the staff were members of. Instead the management set up an alternative to the union called ‘The Forum’. This is a well known tactic of bosses who prefer to deal with a toothless organization representing workers rather than a union. After a court case (which the management lost), the union was finally recognized in 2003 and real negotiations began in 2004.

All the staff are part time except for the chief projectionist and the assistant and general managers. The staff in the café do not leave work at weekends until after 1 am with most ushers finishing after 12. Despite these unsociable hours the management are still refusing to budge from their slave wage offer. The latest deal on the table is an insulting rise from £5.35 to £5.42! Alternatively the staff have been offered £5.50 without their sales bonus.

Unsurprisingly the staff have voted unanimously to hold strike action and today was the first day. The action was timed to coincide with first night of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ so some of the protesters dressed accordingly. There was also a drumming band to liven things up and it has to said that the picket line was loud and well attended. The management have brought in scab labour from their head office to fill the gaps. How they will cope remains to be seen. They have also started trying to intimidate the staff over the strike.

Please show your support by emailing ritzy@picturehouses.co.uk to say that you will be boycotting this cinema until they start paying their staff properly.

We received this by email from a contact in south London. Let the Ritzy cinema know you won’t be going there unless they pay decent wages…

+++++++

PRESS RELEASE 18 May 2007 BECTU MEMBERS TO STRIKE OVER PAY AT RITZY CINEMA IN BRIXTON

After many months of negotiations, members of the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU) have today given management at the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton statutory notice of the days union members will go on strike following a dispute over pay. To coincide with the release of the highly anticipated blockbuster ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End’.

Ritzy staff will strike on Saturday 26 May and Friday 1 June

In an attempt to secure an improved pay offer. Members currently on national minimum wage (£5.35 per hour) voted unanimously to take strike action after they rejected the company’s last offer of £5.41 per hour, or £5.50 without a sales bonus.

Local BECTU representative Jackie Brett-Holt said:

“It is unacceptable for a company as large as City Screen to take advantage of its workers by enforcing a wage well below the recognised London poverty line.

We have made every effort to come to a resolution in our negotiations, but City Screen, which runs the Ritzy, has stated that it will not pay wages at or above the poverty line, and we are therefore forced to take strike action.”

Further information can be obtained from BECTU supervisory official Willy Donaghy on 020 7346 0900 or 07778 859697.

There are many many many reasons to support Resonance fm with your dosh and your time & energy, like

Anyone can produce a programme and they’ll air it

It’s political, it’s experimental, it’s a caress to the eardrums

It’s where you’ll hear real voices, talking about the kind of things you want to hear about even though you may not have realised you wanted to hear about them.

There are no nasty adverts

Things go wrong and it doesn’t matter

SO GET DOWN TO THIS FUNDRAISER IN SUNNY PECKHAM AND GET YOUR QUIDS OUT!

Destination Sunny Peckham21st, 22nd, 23rd JUNE 2007

If you are looking for something different to Glastonbury this year then book your flight to the unspoilt coastline of sun-packed Peckham.

Area 10, an artist led co-operative, in collaboration with Resonance FM and Artery Arts, will don their swimsuits for a three night holiday of excitement, exploration, and expansion.

As part of Camberwell Arts Week, the old timber yard behind Peckham library will get kool in the pool and transform itself into an oasis of activity for the 3 days, creating the perfect climate for a visual and sonic playground.

In a 2012 Show. installations, bands, DJs, street and stage performers, wandering musicians and doom-defying aerial acts will touch on cultures from around the world, uniting people from any and every path of existence, playing with this autonomous space outside as well as inside our heads.

Come and do some spontaneous movement….and please SPREAD THE WORD

An Essential Fundraising Pure Live Event for Resonance FM – freeing up the airwaves & re-wiring the brainwaves

This is the first annual Ladies Rock! Event run by Girls Rock! U.K. We are looking forward to seeing you all, having fun and raising some funds for Girls Rock! 2008. Thanks for your interest.ABOUT US

We are a non-profit organisation that commits to encouraging, engaging and showcasing the musical, artistic and individual talents of girls and women of all ages. Girls Rock! & Ladies Rock! U.K. will provide girls and young women with the opportunity to become self-reliant, confident, creative women who know that their voices have a right to be heard, regardless of their age, class, size, abilities, sexuality, gender identification, religion, ethnicity, race or experience. Ladies Rock! is part of Girls Rock! U.K. The first Girls Rock! U.K. will be a week long camp for 8-18 year olds held in August 2008. Girls Rock! UK is a founding member of the Girls Rock Camp Alliance. More information about the GRCA’s function, mission and inclusion policies can be found at www.girlsrockcampalliance.org.

We use ‘rock’ as an adjective to describe a mode of thinking. The camp is committed to teaching and exploring many different forms of music.

WHO CAN APPLY TO LADIES ROCK!?Any woman over 18 can apply to Ladies Rock! There is no upper age limit and we are trans-inclusive. No musical experience is necessary and you don’t even have to bring your own instruments. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

The cost of the weekend is £50.We are providing some free places to women who cannot afford to pay this so please let us know if you are in this situation – places will be given on a first come first served basis and the number of free spaces depends on our final funding situation.

You could also make an in kind donation to offset your fees. We need help with transporting equipment, providing food and drinks over the three days and childcare facilities. Please call and let us know if you would like to pay all or part of the cost in this way.

Ideally we would like Ladies Rock! to raise some funds for future projects, especially the girls’ camp next year so if you would like to donate some extra funds we will gratefully accept them! We are a non-profit organisation so anything we raise will be fed back into our projects.

HOW TO PAY.Cheques should be made payable to Girls Rock! U.K. You can also pay via our website.DEADLINES.

All applications must be received by Friday 20th July 2007. All payment must be received by Tuesday 31st July 2007.

WEBSITE.

ACCESIBLITY.Lambeth Women’s Project is a three storey building with no lift, however the downstairs area is fully accessible and we will do everything we can to make all workshops and activities available to everyone. Please don’t be put off coming! If you would like to do a site visit before hand please let us know.

CHILDCARE.

Please let us know as soon as possible if you will require childcare over the weekend. We will try to provide an onsite crèche for the weekend but as space is short we may have to work together to find an alternative solution. Childcare concerns should not stop you from coming to Ladies Rock! – we’ll find a way!

ACCOMODATION.If you are coming for out of town please let us know and we will try and find hosts for you. If you are a participant from London that could host someone please get in touch! We can also send you information about accommodation in the area.CONFIRMATION OF

A PLACE

.We will contact you via your preferred method before Friday 27th July 2007. We will announce on our website when all places have been filled.

CANCELLATION.

If you find you can’t make it we will try and find someone to take over your space so you can be fully refunded. In the event that the space is not filled you will receive a 50% refund.

DO YOU PLAY IN A BAND?Send along a tape/CD, website link, promotional material with your application.

ARE YOU PRESS?Please let us know if you are intending to report on your experience at Ladies Rock! and who you work for. We’d love a copy of anything you do write. If you wish to use photos taken at Ladies Rock! you will need to get the consent of those women photographed. Alternatively we can provide photos from our own documentation.